If a 24" wide format printer is enough size and if
you are on a strict budget the Encad Chroma 24 was a good
idea to serve as your first experience in the world of
large
format inkjet printers. But now so many newer
and better 24" printers are available that you should
think about these improved models.
We
just received an e-mail from a school teacher who had a
clever idea, to buy an entry-level wide format printer to
print teaching aids, signs, and even for the students to
use. She got an estimate of over $2400 for some wide format
printer that did only black-and-white! Bad decision! Nowadays
you want full color and 600 dpi.
Fortunately
the teacher sent me an e-mail before she threw her school's
money out the window. Several years ago we suggested an
Encad Chroma 24. One of the entry-level Hewlett-Packard
DesignJet 400-series or 700-series printers would be an
alternative, but I happen to have more experience with the
Encad line.
No
24-inch model has not been a runaway success for any printer
company, hence it was surprising that Epson's new model
7000 is a 24 inch size, rather than a 54 inch size.
The main Epson is the 44-inch Epson
9000. The new 24 inch Epson 7000 will really wake up
the slumbering 24 inch market and cause lots of consternation
to Encad and Hewlett-Packard. The even newer Epson
7500 promises more than it delivers. If you are tempted
by the Epson 7500 you might wish to read our review, as
our review editor was at the DRUPA trade show in Germany
where the Epson 7500 was first presented. Visit our page on the
NovaJet 1000i.
Above,
photographed at CeBit.
Below,
cute frogs photographed at PMA trade show, Las Vegas
But
Epson inks fade quickly and Epson models 1520
and Epson 3000 have proven to be just awful for some
of the unfortunate people who wished they had never bought
a cheap Epson inkjet printer. Again, another reason why
we recommend the Encad. Encad inks last for years, even
exposed on the wall (and especially if you use their GO,
graphic outdoor inks). Even Encad indoor inks have still
preserved their color after two years on the wall (Epson
prints lost their color after a few weeks!). If you put
an Epson print on the window, if sun shines through that
window the print may start to lose its color during the
first week.
Encad
itself may suggest a software RIP to run the Chroma 24
(you certainly do not want to spend the money on a hardware
RIP). There is a new entry-level version of PosterJet
coming out. If it works on an Encad Chroma 24, that is
a good option because it is simple.
Additional updates from winter 2005 onward are also being put into the FLAAR Report Series in PDF format and are available on www.wide-format-printers.NET.
